The Good Life

Josh's Dogs

 Most people I know are yearning for a more simple existence, one in which needs are met in nurturing ways. We want real food, grown with love by people we know. We don't want knick-knacks to fill our shelves, but would rather have meaningful objects which bring grace and beauty to our lives. These changes in material trappings exemplify the changes in our thought, whereby we strive to release illusive beliefs in exchange for the new/old ideas of Spirit. Today I will recognize the difference between unnecessary illusions, which only serve to dull my senses, and the palpably glowing Ideas which nourish me.

“Man is the idea of Spirit; he reflects the beatific presence, illuming the universe with light.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 266:27–29

Living Love's Laws

photo credit: Blake Lasater

I have a cousin who made a post to social media about revenge being best served cold. He went on to expound on how to make our “enemies” uncomfortable while they wait to get what they deserve. I am expressing gratitude for the freedom we are finding through our recognition of everyone as the expression of divine Love. Recognizing ourselves as this Creation frees us from hurt feelings and thoughts of retaliation during times when things don't go as we had hoped and expected. I have a dear friend who has gone through what is traditionally known as a break-up with the woman he was going to marry. He sees this as a natural progression of their relationship, feeling that they had a wonderful time together, that they learned a lot about life, and it's all right if they go their separate ways. I think he feels this way because he knows that Love includes everyone, not just those whose actions he likes. This knowledge brings us the freedom to be joyful and allows others the same right! For which I am thankful!

“God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health 480:3-4

Are We Powerless?

 

Most religious doctrine and non-secular belief propound the idea that we, as humans, are weak, sinful, and powerless. Our interpretation of the language of A Course in Miracles and Mary Baker Eddy could keep us in that belief too, if we are holding onto past perceptions. But we are being asked to release everything we ever knew in order to see ourselves as the actual experience of God. It's very difficult to stop thinking of God as somewhere outside of us, perhaps passing judgment from a throne, and that's why I find it helpful to use some synonyms for Deity. Thinking of myself as a creation of divine Mind, a reflection of divine Love, makes it easier to grasp these concepts without separation. Would I rather see God as an old man in the sky, or as divine Love flowing in and through everything, not as a judgmental figure but as a gentle presence? I know which one brings me peace!

"Mortals must look beyond fading, finite forms, if they would gain the true sense of things. Where shall the gaze rest but in the unsearchable realm of Mind? We must look where we would walk, and we must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being."​ ​Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health  Page 264:7-12

What One Gains is Given to All

 

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #318 topic is: “I came for the salvation of the world". This could be interpreted to mean we should go forth and proselytize, or perhaps that we need to save souls, or something of that sort. It is not. I know a large number of loving, compassionate people who want to save the world. This lesson tells us, "...what one gains is given unto all", and the salvation spoken of is not to be found at some future date, but right here, now, always. Every iota of Truth we accept is a gift to the world. We are all the expression of divine Mind and it only takes a cleansing of ego-based thought to accept this. By our humble yielding, we begin to understand that our salvation lies in this knowledge.

“Millions of unprejudiced minds--simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert--are waiting and watching for rest and drink.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 570:14-17

Allow

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Newton County, AR

Allow - by Danna Faulds

There is no controlling life.

Try corralling a lightning bolt,

containing a tornado. Dam a

stream and it will create a new

channel. Resist, and the tide

will sweep you off your feet.

Allow, and grace will carry

you to higher ground. The only

safety lies in letting it all in –

the wild and the weak; fear,

fantasies, failures and success.

When loss rips off the doors of

the heart, or sadness veils your

vision with despair, practice

becomes simply bearing the truth.

In the choice to let go of your

known way of being, the whole

world is revealed to your new eyes

By: Danna Faulds

A Satisfying Visit With Friends

 

Magnetic Springs Road - Eureka Springs, AR

Today brought a satisfying visit with a couple of nonagenarian friends who have been dealing with various health problems. The sweet woman had broken a hip and recently returned home from five weeks in the hospital and rehabilitation. Her husband has been having memory problems and recently was diagnosed with cancer. The visit was satisfying because my sweet female friend is doing so well — walking and laughing and trying to learn new things. (I took her a portable CD player so she can listen to books and she happily learned how to use it!) She is also a life-long student of Christian Science, although she hasn’t actively studied in many years. But once you know the principles of metaphysics, you look at life in a different way. She is sure in her understanding of her true being as the image and likeness of God — of Life, Truth, and Love. Her husband, on the other hand, is materialistic in his understanding of life. He is distressed and thinks his life is over and he wants to be done with it all. We are good enough friends that I was able to tell him about a time in my own life when I could have felt as he does, but I chose to be grateful for the things I could do, rather than being angry or sad over what I could no longer have. We talked about how great his life has been and still is! If anyone reading this feels helpless or hopeless, start a gratitude journal. Every day I’m thankful for the sunshine, or the butterflies, or my friends, or books — well, you get the idea. Allow yourself to feel joy in the little things. Life is Good…

“All the evidence of physical sense and all the knowledge obtained from physical sense must yield to Science, to the immortal truth of all things.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health 493:6-8

Finding Joy in Another's Good

photo credit: Blake Lasater

 A Course in Miracles workbook lesson #316 states: “All gifts I give my brothers are my own.” I take that to mean all the good that is being given and received by everyone, everywhere, is goodness being given by and to me, right here, right now, all the time. Well, how far out is that??! After expressing this thought to someone, they said, "But what about the bad? Isn’t it given and received by everyone, and doesn’t it cancel out the good?" We could go through lots of conversations about these points, concerning the unreality of bad and the only-ness of good. But I don’t want to think in those ways any longer -- of right and wrong, good and bad -- so I won’t speak or write in those ways either. There is only One God, expressing only Itself. If we are the idea of God, there’s nothing else to consider. God is Love. We are Love and that’s a powerful principle by which to abide! “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” Rumi

“… that joy which finds one’s own in another’s good.” Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 127